Liquid Series build queries

[Elfangorax]

Hi, folks. I'm looking into getting a Liquid Series build and this is where I've landed so far:

Case
CORSAIR OBSIDIAN SERIES™ 1000D FULL TOWER CASE (LS)
Custom Liquid Cooling Kit
Liquid Series RGB Extreme Kit - EK
Tubing
Clear Hardline PETG Tubing (Bent/Black Fittings)
Graphics Card Cooling
GPU Water Block - For One Graphics Card!
Coolant Colour
Mayhems X1 UV Purple
LED Lighting
50cm UV LED Strip
Overclocked CPU
Overclocked Intel® Core™ i9-11900K Eight Core (3.50GHz @ up to 5.4GHz)
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS XIII HERO Wi-Fi (LGA1200, USB 3.2, PCIe 4.0, SLI) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HX SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Blue/Black
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Extra Case Fans
8 x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + 2 x Controller Kit (1000D ONLY)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £6,224.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z590-liquid/vCXkUEf5Hu/



I'm the type to spend a lot up front to go very high spec for time of purchase and then not change anything for a long time, so budget isn't a concern. The machine will mainly be used for gaming and remote office work, and will be connected to two Acer X27 monitors (4K, 144Hz).

All that said, I have one very broad question and two very specific questions:

1. Do you see any issues or red flags in this build?
2. The build form indicates that this would only need an 850W PSU, but I've seen indications elsewhere in the forum that this CPU/GPU combo should be considered 1000W minimum; is 1200W overkill, or just prudent?
3. Does anyone have any notion of how to select parts which are available from PCS, but which don't appear in a particular build category's dropdowns? I'd ideally like to change to these parts from the Intel Top Spec Core Computers category, but they don't appear available for Liquid Series:
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz (2 x 16GB)

 

[Scott]

I probably wouldn't opt for a liquid series at all. Do you have a particular reason for going down this route? They can take a bit of looking after and they are very expensive for what they are.

Otherwise the obvious red flag is the 11k series Intel that is selected. You rightly want to change to either 12k series or an AMD build. I'm not convinced there's any value in DDR5 just yet but if you're hoping for a one stop shop then its a fair shout. I wouldn't recommend the 3090, the 3080Ti is a gaming GPU where the 3090 is production. There's very little in performance between the 2 but quite the difference in price. It's a non-value added option.

 

[Elfangorax]

You make a good point about Liquid Series in general. I'm definitely not going to be getting my hands dirty with it myself, and it would be a hassle to have PCS service it. I was honestly just going for that because it would look sweet, but it's probably not worth the headache.

I've checked out a few comparison articles between the 3080Ti and 3090, and I do see that the difference is marginal, but I'm okay with paying through the nose for a little more performance, and the consensus does seem to be that the 3090 is slightly better for gaming.

I've updated my build to remove the liquid cooling loop and incorporate the Top Spec Core Computers parts I referenced (and changed the case to allow for an internal BD drive, for the occasional convenience of it):

Case
BE QUIET! DARK BASE PRO 900 REV. 2 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® ROG MAXIMUS Z690 HERO WIFI (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 4800MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
24GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3090 - HDMI, DP
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
4TB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7300MB/R, 6900MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW & SOFTWARE
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HX SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H100x Hydro Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00003]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £5,301.00 including VAT and Delivery
Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-ddr5-pc/htMYBJnmXN/



Any thoughts on the PSU situation? I've kept it at 1200W for now, as I'd rather overshoot than lowball, but not sure whether I've overcompensated? I also don't know jack about cooling, so any thoughts on what I've selected for Processor Cooling would be appreciated.

 

[Martinr36]

I'd stay with the 1200W if its ok budget wise, on the cooler side I'd go w2ith the 115i cappelix , and scrap the artic paste as the corsair cooler come with premium paste pre applied

 

[Scott]

You seem to be going for a Frankenstein approach on the system with very little merit to a lot of the selections made. The irony is that you have selected one of the hottest systems possible and put one of the smaller option coolers on it, OTT everywhere but the area it actually needs it.

There are a number of changes I would make personally, but they're going to fall foul of your viewpoint, similar to that of the 3090, I'll just wish you well... it'll be a very powerful system regardless

 

[Bigfoot]

Do you really need 8TB of Gen 4 M.2 storage? OS and apps are generally better kept on a smaller (512 GB) fast (Gen 4) M.2 that is kept clear of everything else

 

[Elfangorax]

You seem to be going for a Frankenstein approach on the system with very little merit to a lot of the selections made. The irony is that you have selected one of the hottest systems possible and put one of the smaller option coolers on it, OTT everywhere but the area it actually needs it.

There are a number of changes I would make personally, but they're going to fall foul of your viewpoint, similar to that of the 3090, I'll just wish you well... it'll be a very powerful system regardless

With regard to the cooling specifically, I've followed Martin's advice and updated to the 115i Elite Capellix. I know cooling is important; I just don't know enough to have a sense of what's needed. Do you think this change will be sufficient to deal with the heat the build will generate?

 

[JUNI0R]

In agreement with a lot of the above so the system below is what I’d suggest. It’ll perform to 99% of the system you’ve posted above but is almost two thousand pounds cheaper.

Case
Send In Your Own Case Send in a Corsair 5000X it’s a brilliant top end case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ELITE DDR4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready As above, there’s currently very little appreciable difference between DDR4 and 5 so I’ve opted for DDR4. The STRIX board available for DDR4 is white, so gone for the STRIX of the gigabyte world if white isn’t your thing
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR It seems nonsensical to me to pay more than £400 for what will only be a couple of FPS difference at 4K. It’s your money but it seems like a waste and I’d strongly advise the 80TI as the top dog gaming card
1st Storage Drive
2TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW) Would normally be a HDD for general files but huge budget so 🤷‍♂️
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W) Little confused on the 4TB of Gen 4 storage, something like this would be a much more optimal layout. This SSD Is for Windows and applications (means you don’t have to reinstall games if you need to reinstall windows)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW) Still unbelievably fast drive for Games. Go for the 4TB Corsair if you really think you’ll need it, but don’t think you will
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW Don’t sacrifice on case choice if a DVD drive is something don’t use actively all the time. DVD is a dead format these days
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HX SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM, ULTRA QUIET 1200W will have the system more efficient and allow for better future upgradability if the 3080TI somehow starts lacking
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Red/Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler Proper top end cooler for what is an oven of a CPU. You don’t need the screen, but in this budget, why not
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 The motherboard doesn’t have built in wifi so added this WiFi card, it’s all the WiFi card you’ll need
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001] I’d personally stick to Windows 10 while W11 is still in its infancy
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) No brainier for £5 but considering the price of the system another couple of bumps wouldn’t be a bad idea
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £3,492.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/dhGQ7t7SZ9/

 

[Elfangorax]

In agreement with a lot of the above so the system below is what I’d suggest. It’ll perform to 99% of the system you’ve posted above but is almost two thousand pounds cheaper.

Case
Send In Your Own Case Send in a Corsair 5000X it’s a brilliant top end case
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i9 16-Core Processor i9-12900K (3.2GHz) 30MB Cache
Motherboard
GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS ELITE DDR4 (LGA1700, USB 3.2, PCIe 5.0) - ARGB Ready As above, there’s currently very little appreciable difference between DDR4 and 5 so I’ve opted for DDR4. The STRIX board available for DDR4 is white, so gone for the STRIX of the gigabyte world if white isn’t your thing
Memory (RAM)
32GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3600MHz (2 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
12GB NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 3080 Ti - HDMI, DP, LHR It seems nonsensical to me to pay more than £400 for what will only be a couple of FPS difference at 4K. It’s your money but it seems like a waste and I’d strongly advise the 80TI as the top dog gaming card
1st Storage Drive
2TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (up to 560MB/sR | 530MB/sW) Would normally be a HDD for general files but huge budget so 🤷‍♂️
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SEAGATE FIRECUDA 530 GEN 4 PCIe NVMe (up to 7000MB/R, 3000MB/W) Little confused on the 4TB of Gen 4 storage, something like this would be a much more optimal layout. This SSD Is for Windows and applications (means you don’t have to reinstall games if you need to reinstall windows)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
2TB INTEL® 670p M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 3500MB/sR | 2700MB/sW) Still unbelievably fast drive for Games. Go for the 4TB Corsair if you really think you’ll need it, but don’t think you will
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW Don’t sacrifice on case choice if a DVD drive is something don’t use actively all the time. DVD is a dead format these days
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1200W HX SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® PLATINUM, ULTRA QUIET 1200W will have the system more efficient and allow for better future upgradability if the 3080TI somehow starts lacking
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Braided Power Supply Cables
CORSAIR Premium Individually Sleeved PSU Cable Kit Pro - Red/Black
Processor Cooling
CORSAIR iCUE H150i ELITE LCD Display RGB CPU Cooler Proper top end cooler for what is an oven of a CPU. You don’t need the screen, but in this budget, why not
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Extra Case Fans
3x Corsair LL120 RGB LED Fan + Controller Kit
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Card
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0 The motherboard doesn’t have built in wifi so added this WiFi card, it’s all the WiFi card you’ll need
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001] I’d personally stick to Windows 10 while W11 is still in its infancy
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10/11 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) No brainier for £5 but considering the price of the system another couple of bumps wouldn’t be a bad idea
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Christmas Delivery No Longer Guaranteed - Assembly From 29/12/2021
Price: £3,492.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/intel-z690-pc/dhGQ7t7SZ9/

I appreciate the detail on each suggested alternative part. Is there a reason you suggest a Gen 3 M.2 drive for the 2TB SSD? Am I likely to hit a bottleneck in the speed of the Gen 4?

 

[JUNI0R]

I appreciate the detail on each suggested alternative part. Is there a reason you suggest a Gen 3 M.2 drive for the 2TB SSD? Am I likely to hit a bottleneck in the speed of the Gen 4?

Speed. Gen 3's are still so unbelievably quick that for a secondary/ games drive that it's more than enough speed for just about anyone. I mean the gap between SATA SSD's and Gen 4 NVME's aren't even that big, just as long as you're not on HDD it doesn't really matter. Yes, Direct storage coming to Windows 11 soon could make Gen 4's even faster and then increase the gap a bit, but I can't exactly imagine them making Gen 3 NVME's obsolete.

I guess if you're going for top everything most expensive everywhere then yes, go for Gen 4, but if you're wanting to actually be sensible with your money, Gen 3 all the way from me.